New Hanover ABC board seeks pay increase

The board is proposing a doubling of the chairman's monthly compensation and a $100 increase for the four other members.

By Ashley WithersAshley.Withers@StarNewsOnline.com

The New Hanover County Alcohol Beverage Control Board is requesting a significant salary increase for its board members, proposing a doubling of the chairman's monthly compensation to $300 and a $100 increase – to $250 a month – for the board's four other members.The request to the Board of Commissioners comes just two months after one of their own joined the commissioners.Commissioner Thomas Wolfe served as chairman of the ABC Board for just over two years. He stepped down from his leadership role after being appointed to serve as a commissioner, but remains on the ABC board.Wolfe said he was the ABC board member who first felt the need for this increase and said this was the right time to present it.“We've got such a great board. I felt that somebody had to step up and do it and I felt, since I was no longer chairman, that it should be me,” Wolfe said. “When I looked at the work these guys were putting in, I didn't feel it was proper to keep the salaries at the same level.”Wolfe also said the board's responsibilities could soon be increasing as the local ABC will be looking into new projects and properties this year.The board members must get permission from the commissioners to raise their salaries. Members of the county planning board receive $20 per meeting, as do members of the county health board. The only comparable board with a higher stipend is the New Hanover County Airport Authority. The Airport Authority chairman makes a maximum of $350 per month and regular members make a maximum of $300 per month.The ABC Board's current pay limit was set in October 2010 following an investigation by the StarNews that revealed exorbitant salaries, violations of the state bidding and public records laws, nepotism, lack of written procedures and the supervisor's use of taxpayer money to pay a contractor who did work on his home.The investigation led to inquiries around the state, the dismissal of a number of ABC board members and new laws governing local boards. These new laws gave the commissioners more authority over the local ABC board.Since the changes have been made and new ABC board members and administrators have taken over, the New Hanover County ABC has become one of the most profitable in the state. It is third in the state for gross sales and operating dollars, as well as second in operating profit percentages, but officials said the board was last in total board member compensation.“This increase is not out of line,” Wolfe said. “It's not excessive.”No money from the county budget is used for the ABC board's salaries.The proposed salary increase prompted no discussion from the commissioners at Thursday's agenda meeting. Commissioners Jonathan Barfield and Brian Berger did not attend the agenda meeting.The commissioners will vote on the proposal Monday morning at their regularly scheduled meeting.Wolfe said he will abstain from voting.